A leading figure in the opposition to the Malian military regime, Imam Dicko pleads for a “regional solution” to the jihadist violence ravaging the countries of the Sahel. France 24 journalist Wassim Nasr met this influential figure in Mauritania who has become the bête noire of the junta, on the sidelines of the sixth edition of the African Conference for the Promotion of Peace.

Published on: 02/16/2026 - 5:50 p.m. Modified on: 02/17/2026 - 8:09 a.m.

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A well-known figure among Malians, imam Mahmoud Dicko was at the head of the protest movement which precipitated the fall in 2020 of the last elected Malian president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, overthrown by the army.

A time favorable to the putschist soldiers who took power in Bamako, this imam holding a rigorous Islam has in recent years taken very critical positions vis-à-vis this same junta, which now considers him an enemy.

Exiled in Algeria, he recently joined a new movement, the Coalition of Forces for the Republic (CFR) and aims to renew dialogue between the different parties and to bring down the military in power in Mali.

“Mediator” for opposition forces

“He has very little hope” that a negotiation will be possible with the current regime, indicates France 24 journalist Wassim Nasr, who met him on the sidelines of the sixth edition of the African Conference for the Promotion of Peace, organized in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

In Mali, "the entire civil society is under pressure. Opponents, politicians are in prison, so there remains only the opposition abroad which is trying to unite through the CFR and the armed opposition", underlines Wassim Nasr, in reference to the predominantly Tuareg rebel groups in northern Mali as well as to Jnim, linked to Al-Qaeda.

“As we speak, Imam Dicko is the only Malian personality accepted and respected by all parties opposed to the ruling junta, including the Jnim, which accepts its role as mediator with other opposition actors,” underlines the journalist.

With AFP

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